Aerosol infectivity of a Baculovirus to Trichoplusia ni larvae: An alternative larval inoculation strategy for recombinant protein production.

The baculovirus-insect expression system is a popular tool for recombinant protein production. The standard method for infecting insect larvae with recombinant baculovirus for protein production involves either feeding occlusion bodies or injecting budded virus into the cuticle. In this study, we showed that the recombinant Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) at titers >10(8) pfu/mL efficiently infected Trichoplusia ni (T. ni) larvae through aerosol inoculation of budded virus at a pressure of 5.5 x 10(4) Pa. The dipping T. ni larvae in virus-containing solution efficiently infected them. These results indicate that surface contamination, either by aerosol or dipping, lead to infection via spiracles. The aerosol infection route for AcMNPV was restricted to T. ni and Plutella xylostella larvae, whereas Spodoptera litura and Helicoverpa armigera larvae were resistant to this inoculation process. The yields of the reporter proteins DsRed and EGFP from T. ni larvae following aerosol infection were nearly identical to those following oral feeding or injection. This alternative baculovirus infection strategy facilitates recombinant protein and virus production by insect larvae.